The vast majority of terminally-ill individuals require dietary supplement, appetite stimulation, significant analgesia and/or mood elevation to optimize the quality of the duration of their survival prognosis.
The principal major analgesics belong to the morphine opioids. This class of drugs acts by blocking the central nervous system. Non-opioid drugs that are used are nonsteroid anti-inflammation drugs (NSAIDS), such as aspirin. This latter class of drugs inhibits prostaglandin synthesis and thus reduces the pain transmitted by somatic nerves. None of these are entirely ideal due to the addictive effect of the first class of drugs and the often limited efficacy of the second class of drugs. Neither have ever been shown to exhibit appetite stimulant properties in the absence of dependence risk.